The one D-League team that didn’t want to see the All-Star break had to be the New Jersey Nets affiliate, the Springfield Armor.
Springfield is playing its best basketball of the season (and of its short three-year existence). The Armor are riding an eight-game winning streak and after a pair of dominating wins against the Eastern Conference-leading Iowa Energy last week, Springfield sits 21-13, just one game behind Iowa.
Springfield’s rapid improvement
The New Jersey Nets stepped into a tough situation last May when they formed a hybrid affiliation with Springfield. The Nets took over a team that won only 20 games out of the first 100 contests.
The hiring of Milton Lee, as General Manager of Minor League Operations, and Bob MacKinnon as head coach.
MacKinnon, with 16 games remaining on the schedule, has already won more games than Dee Brown did in his two-year stint on the Armor bench.
The hybrid formation has already provided one call-up already this season. Armor forward, Dennis Horner was able to step in after the Nets had a few injuries in the frontcourt to begin the season.
Along with Horner, center Jeff Foote and guard JamesOn Curry and Jerry Smith have also been talked about as top prospects.
Armor’s All-Star weekend
Springfield continued its success in the month of February with several Armor players taken home hardware from Orlando.
Smith along with Sioux Falls’ Marqus Blakely and Fort Wayne’s Cameron Jones won the Haier Shooting Stars Challenge.
For the second time in as many tries, Armor guard/forward L.D. Williams took home the Slam Dunk title.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYOrPVysxcE&w=560&h=315]
As for the game, the Armor had a trio of players elected to the All-Star game.
Curry lead the east with a team-high 25 points. Foote had a team-high seven rebounds and Smith, who started the game has 14 points, six assists, and five rebounds. East would fall
Road ahead
In the Armor’s final 16 games, only three are against teams that are over .500.
Springfield closes out the regular season with four games on the road with four games in seven nights. The Armor will start that season ending road trip in Maine before making stops in Erie, Austin, and finally Texas.
Springfield begins the final stretch of the season Friday on the road against Maine. The Armor are back in the birthplace of basketball Mar. 8 to host Canton.
